Rutgers stadium bids are $18M beyond budget

Bids for the expansion of the Rutgers University football stadium -- now being scaled back -- came in as much as $18 million over budget, according to two officials briefed on the stadium's growing financial problems.

The higher costs represent more than 17 percent of the project's $102 million budget.

A university spokesman yesterday could not confirm the inflated cost projections, but said there has been discussion in high-level meetings earlier this week involving a range of numbers.

The spokesman, Greg Trevor, said the university is focused on how to keep the stadium at the $102 million price tag approved by the Rutgers board of governors in January, without cutting any of the proposed additional seating capacity.

"The president receives regular updates on the status of the stadium. The most recent one occurred earlier this week, when the unexpectedly high bids due to the rising costs of concrete, steel and fuel were discussed," Trevor said. "A range of numbers was discussed during that meeting. However, representatives from facilities and athletics both emphasized emphatically that they were still analyzing the numbers and it was too early to draw conclusions. There was not enough confidence in the numbers to focus in on that."

Rutgers officials Wednesday announced the university had begun rethinking the scope of the stadium project because of the higher-than-anticipated bids, but they could not provide specifics.

University athletic director Robert Mulcahy had downplayed the impact, saying only that "some prices came in higher than originally estimated, although others have been lower than estimated."

Two sources familiar with the budget discussions but not authorized to talk about the matter said the higher bids -- involving the preformed concrete support structures for the new seating and other elements of the stadium expansion -- were up to $18 million more than had been anticipated.

Rutgers president Richard L. McCormick said it is not yet known how the school may reduce the project's scope, but he reiterated reducing seating capacity was an option of last resort. The project is scheduled to be completed by August 2009.

Any cutbacks will have no impact on the first phase of the project -- the addition of 1,000 new "premium" mezzanine club and loge box seats. Construction of the club area is ongoing, and Mulcahy said it remains on schedule and will be ready for the Scarlet Knights' Sept. 1 game against Fresno State.

At issue is the more extensive construction centered in the south end-zone section of the stadium, where 13,000 new seats will be added. That phase of the plan also calls for construction of new elevators, concession stands and restrooms, a recruiting lounge and upgrading the stadium's sound system, scoreboard and video screen. The university also plans to add a new entrance off River Road to increase the stadium's visibility and ease traffic congestion on game days.

The stadium currently seats 43,000.

The cost of the stadium project has been an issue since it was announced. Rutgers plans to borrow $72 million to finance the expansion, with the bonds repaid through stadium revenue. However, New Jersey's own budget crisis forced Trenton lawmakers to pull back on additional state support for the stadium, leading the university to turn to private donors to raise $30 million to complete the project.

Gov. Jon Corzine and state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) are lending their names to that fundraising effort, but the university only recently began soliciting donors.

Lesniak yesterday said if Rutgers plans to increase the overall cost of the project beyond $102 million, "I'd want to find out where the additional dollars are going to come from." He said he doubts additional money could either be found in state coffers or collected through his current fundraising campaign.

But he was optimistic.

"There are a lot of options here," Lesniak said. "The one thing that's clear is that everything is going to be cool for the opening of the fall season."